Ankara, Damascus Demand Opening Communication Channels

Protests in northern Syria on Friday. (Reuters)
Protests in northern Syria on Friday. (Reuters)
TT

Ankara, Damascus Demand Opening Communication Channels

Protests in northern Syria on Friday. (Reuters)
Protests in northern Syria on Friday. (Reuters)

Ankara and Damascus have exchanged demands for reopening contact channels and normalizing ties, according to Turkish sources.

Türkiye's pro-government newspaper “Turkiye” has alleged that Assad has five demands from Ankara, and that the Turkish government requires the Syrian regime to “completely clear” the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from its lands and to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees.

According to the newspaper, the Syrian regime's demands are: the transfer of Idlib's control to Damascus, the transfer of Reyhanli-Cilvegozu border gate and Kesep border gate, trade corridor between Cilvegözü and Damascus, the control the M4 highway between Deir ez-Zor and Haseke, and Türkiye's support with regards to the issue of Europe and US’ sanctions against the Syrian regime.

In the meantime, Türkiye's Homeland Party (Vatan Party), an opposition party that has been reconciling with the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, revealed that it will soon send a delegation to Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Vatan Party Secretary- General Ozgur Bursal said that the visit to Damascus comes upon an invitation from the Syrian regime.

Bursal noted that the Vatan Party has long been contemplating its visit to Syria. Now that the time has come, the party’s delegation is expected to arrive in Damascus within the coming 10-15 days.

The delegation is making the visit independently and will be following its very own programs and policies that are related to Türkiye’s future.

Bursal affirmed that the Turkish government was notified on the visit.

He added that the talks will focus on strengthening cooperation between Türkiye and Syria in all fields, especially in the military and economic fields.

They will also center around the joint struggle against all fanatic and reactionary organizations, the territorial integrity of Syria, and the safe return of refugees in Türkiye to their country.



Sudan’s Ruling Council Reshuffles Cabinet amid Brutal Conflict

A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
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Sudan’s Ruling Council Reshuffles Cabinet amid Brutal Conflict

A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)

Sudan's army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at war with paramilitaries, has announced a cabinet reshuffle that replaces four ministers including those for foreign affairs and the media.

The late Sunday announcement comes with the northeast African country gripped by the world's worst displacement crisis, threatened by famine and desperate for aid, according to the UN.

In a post on its official Facebook page, Sudan's ruling sovereignty council said Burhan had approved replacement of the ministers of foreign affairs, the media, religious affairs and trade.

The civil war that began in April 2023 pits Burhan's military against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries under the command of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Since then, the army-aligned Sudanese government has been operating from the eastern city of Port Sudan, which has largely remained shielded from the violence.

But the Sudanese state "is completely absent from the scene" in all sectors, economist Haitham Fathy told AFP earlier this year.

The council did not disclose reasons behind the reshuffle but it coincides with rising violence in al-Gezira, south of the capital Khartoum, and North Darfur in Sudan's far west bordering Chad.

On Friday the spokesman for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he condemned attacks by the RSF on Gezira, after the United States made a similar call over the violence against civilians.

Among the key government changes, Ambassador Ali Youssef al-Sharif, a retired diplomat who previously served as Sudan's ambassador to China and South Africa, was appointed foreign minister.

He replaces Hussein Awad Ali who had held the role for seven months.

Journalist and TV presenter Khalid Ali Aleisir, based in London, was named minister of culture and media.

The reshuffle also saw Omar Banfir assigned to the trade ministry and Omar Bakhit appointed to the ministry of religious affairs.

Over the past two weeks, the RSF increased attacks on civilians in Gezira following the army's announcement that an RSF commander had defected.

According to an AFP tally based on medical and activist sources, at least 200 people were killed in Gezira last month alone. The UN reports that the violence has forced around 120,000 people from their homes.

In total, Sudan hosts more than 11 million displaced people, while another 3.1 million are now sheltering beyond its borders, according to the International Organization for Migration.